Do you know what a “flat” is? If someone said to you “cheerio!” would you look twice? If someone were talking about “football,” would you think about soccer? Sophomore Grace Shackelford didn’t, but since moving to Oxford, England, in January of this year, her vocabulary has broadened dramatically.
     Shackelford will be in England for six and a half months with her family while her father is on a working sabbatical at the University of Oxford before returning in August.
     “One of the most amusing/difficult things to do here is actually understand what people are trying to say,” said Shackelford in an email. “Whether it is just the heavy accents or the different choice of words, you have to constantly think about it.”
     The closeness of everything in Oxford has changed Shakelford’s daily life.  With everything within two miles, she now walks by herself to school, to the store or anywhere else she may need to go.
     “I really enjoy the independence I have received since we arrived,” said Shackelford.
      Even the schooling is different on the other side of the pond. Teachers there don’t take up grades throughout the year, so a student’s entire performance grade is based on the end-of-the-year exam.
     There are also differences in the way they split up classes in England. When students are the age of our ninth graders, students choose classes to take over the next three years.
     “They do not split up different math courses or science so you just have a class called ‘Science’ where you learn them all. I prefer the American schools over Cheney [the school she attends],” she said.
     The infrastructure in England is also dramatically different, where some of the buildings are older than America itself.
     “It’s hard to comprehend how long those places have stood,” said Shackelford.
     One of the big plusses for her are the frequent trips to London, which is only an hour away.
     “The sights are amazing,” she said “I’m excited to go see a musical next week [in] downtown [London].”
     The proximity to France also makes visiting one of the world’s premier tourist destinations only a ferry ride away.
     “It’s cool to think I’m this close to those exciting places,” she said.
     Despite being over 3,800 miles away, Shackelford still manages to keep up with her Northwood friends through email, Skype and Facebook.
     “Meeting new people and seeing new places is amazing,” said Shackelford. “I am homesick, but am having a fantastic time!”